Weight loss is a side effect of fitness. Thank you for visiting and reading. Please feel free to comment, I don't answer very often because I have had my say, and the comments are for you to have yours. Just remember, even if we disagree, I don't require you to be wrong, for me to be correct in my thinking!

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Classic Doc Joe: For the next several weeks I will be re-posting some of my original writings. Sadly, the last several months, I lost sight of what I had previously written.

The recent headlines and talking heads in the media have been screaming the latest news:

We are in the midst of an obesity epidemic

By 2030 42% of the U.S. population will be obese

There will soon be more morbidly obese people, than those simply obese

Health care costs related to obesity are soaring

What does it all mean? Okay, I think that answer is obvious — we have a problem, a very serious health problem. So, what will people do? They will look for a diet solution to drop pounds and either get themselves off of the obesity train, or stop themselves from ever getting onboard. Unfortunately my friends, this becomes a contributing factor to the obesity problem.

When discussing our health, the priority is to define the word diet. I am sure any dictionary will give you plenty of definitions. I will give you mine:

Diet: Whatever a person shoves into their mouth and swallows into their stomach.

You can have a good diet.

You can have a bad diet.

I guess you can even have no diet.

A diet is not something you go on or off. A diet is a way of life, and right now many are consuming a diet that is fueling the ever expanding obesity epidemic.

When I decided to take control and be responsible for my health and wellness, I chose a low carbohydrate diet. I chose this option because my father was a Type II diabetic, as was my maternal grandmother. Considering the way I was destroying my health, I was sure I was going to be a prime candidate for sticking the insulin needle into my body each day. So, I used my knowledge of physiology to choose this particular diet plan. I utilized some of the low carbohydrate, pre-packaged products, going so far as to recommend them in the first edition of my book.

However, as I progressed over the last several years, I began steering clear of pre-packaged foods all together. I started eating foods from only natural sources. I later discovered that there was a name for this type of diet; actually several:

Paleolithic

Primal

Caveman

There are communities all over the internet devoted to this type of diet, all proclaiming that this is the diet for good health — with which I agree. After taking some time to think about it, I realized in the world of different diets for health, this model can work for every diet out there. Just take a moment to think about it.

For over three and half years I maintained a 130 pound weight loss, then last year I lost my way and found a relapse in obesity. I am discussing my battle with recidivism.

**************The information, advice and opinions contained herein is for information purposes only and is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease or disorder. The posting and videos do not apply to those with an underlying medical or hormonal condition. I advise anyone embarking on a weight loss and fitness plan to have a thorough medical evaluation. You want to be sure that you are physically able to exercise and you don’t have any underlying medical conditions No guarantees are made or to be implied.***********

Classic Doc Joe: For the next several weeks I will be re-posting some of my original writings. Sadly, the last several months, I lost sight of what I had previously written.

At the Arctic Circle a prehistoric couple was discovered frozen in ice. After they were slowly thawed out, it was discovered that the sub-sub-freezing temperatures had actually kept them alive.

They were identified as homoresearchus and homacademius, and lo and behold they actually spoke a form of English. When asked what they were doing in such a hostile environment, they answered that they were doing a controlled clinical study to either prove or disprove that newly discovered fire actually provided warmth and protection from the cold.

If you read anything that I write, including my books, you have probably taken note of the fact that I don’t spend a whole lot of, if any time, talking about all the science or research.

Why?

Because my focus has always been on the person, whether it is a patient I treat in my office as a chiropractor, or clients I motivate to take control of their health through Obesity Undone. What is important to me, and should be important to those of us who help others, is taking the whole of the information and effectively applying it to those who seek us out.

Some folks become so myopic, that they lose sight of the fact that the human body, and human physiology is not static — in actuality; it is very dynamic! Scientist and researches did not build the human body from the ground up as is done with a building, car or computer — we are forced to reverse engineer the anatomy and physiology of people. This means, thankfully, that not everything follows a static plan, and not all of us will react identically to the same stimuli.

Just because I read, participate in conversations about, and understand the “science”, does NOT make a basic, common sense approach any less true or effective. Yes, it is important for us clinicians to understand the science, but it is also important to not get so lost in it that we lose sight of what is most important — effectively helping people.

I am often baffled at those who strongly desire and require to complicate even the most basic concepts. Carole Sampson, over at her former blog, CarbSaneR did a review of my book Obesity Undone, and she encapsulated my point of view in two sentences.

“It isn’t about pointless rat studies and attacking other people. It is about the human side of the obesity problem and about how changing one’s mental attitude is critical.”

That is the point of everything I write or say.

Do I understand the physiology of digestion, metabolism, lipolysis , anabolic/catabolic effects on muscle tissue, liver, kidney, pancreatic functions, etc…? Yes I do, but I don’t discuss them all that often.

Why?

Because, when it comes to improving health and well-being, losing weight, getting fit, etc… what over 15 years of clinical practice has taught me is — most people don’t care that much about the minutia. All that matters to those who are suffering is — does it f&^%ing work!?

I remember when I was first out of school, because chiropractors are often treated as second class health care providers, I felt the need to overcome that misconception and over-explain every little detail of diagnosis and treatment. I hated the term “slipped disc” because even though orthopedic and nuero surgeons used it, I understood to “slip” a disc wasn’t really possible. I refrained from using “sciatica,” because my education taught me it was merely a descriptive term and gave no indication of the root cause of the problem. I was trying to educate my patients with minuscule detail and big medical terms. Boy, I was an asshole.

It was after a few months in practice, I had a migraine headache sufferer in my office, that I came to realize the truth.

This person had been a patient for about 2 weeks, and I was doing what I was taught in school; adjusting her neck. I was having limited success,when on one particular visit, the patient’s migraine became exponentially worse after a treatment. I was unsure what to do, so I put an ice-pack on her neck, turned out the lights, and made a phone call to one of my clinic mentors, Dr. Violini. Dr. Violini was about 80 years old and had well over fifty years of practice experience. I often tell people that my education prepared me to be a doctor — but it was Dr. Violini who taught me what it was to be a chiropractor. To make this short; Dr. Violini told me to adjust a certain segment, one that we had never been told in our education that would help with headaches. I questioned him, when he said — JUST GO AND MAKE THE ADJUSTMENT! So I did, and the migraine abated immediately. I called him later and asked him why it worked. Dr. Violini said, in his heavily Italian accented English; “I don’t know. When I was first in practice, like you, same thing happened, my boss told me to adjust — I did, headache went away.”

Through a lot of research and a chance meeting with a gentleman who was a chiropractor, medical doctor and neurologist — I finally learned the reason why this particular adjustment worked. Excitedly, I shared this newly discovered information with my many migraine patients.

Do you want to know something? Not a single one of them cared.

They were simply glad they no longer suffered from frequent migraines and didn’t have to any longer take medication.

There are plenty of academics, researchers and bloggers out there who are so dogmatically attached to science, that they are almost religious in their worship. As I wrote in an earlier posting, they become so focused on examining a droplet of water — they miss the majesty of the ocean.

These folks can’t wrap their minds around a simple fact — in many cases, low carbohydrate eating works, and no matter how many studies support or contradict this truism — most overweight or obese people don’t care — they simply care that they drop weight and become healthier. And, isn’t that what is truly important?

Instead of worrying so much about the worshiping at the altar of science, perhaps to undo obesity, a little common sense is all we really need.

Life is lived in color, but sometimes the answers remain black and white.

For over three and half years I maintained a 130 pound weight loss, then last year I lost my way and found a relapse in obesity. I am discussing my battle with recidivism.

**************The information, advice and opinions contained herein is for information purposes only and is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease or disorder. The posting and videos do not apply to those with an underlying medical or hormonal condition. I advise anyone embarking on a weight loss and fitness plan to have a thorough medical evaluation. You want to be sure that you are physically able to exercise and you don’t have any underlying medical conditions No guarantees are made or to be implied.***********

Classic Doc Joe: For the next several weeks I will be re-posting some of my original writings. Sadly, the last several months, I lost sight of what I had previously written.

“…. to go into a cold gym takes a lot of discipline, boy, I’ll tell ya. … I never liked to exercise, but I like results.” Jack LaLanne

“One can exist for an indefinite period without exercise, but one cannot really and truly live without it.” Bernarr MacFadden

I was reading on one of the many Facebook pages I belong to and someone was asking about not feeling up to a workout. Some of the responses suggested that workouts must be fun. As I read them I had to ask myself two questions:

Are my workouts fun? Do they need to be?

My exercise routine is spit into two portions:

Strength training, in which I use weight lifting.

Endurance training, in which I use a combination of jogging, sprints and rope skipping.

Yes, I will admit that there is something exhilarating about pitting myself against cold, unyielding iron. I look forward to my mornings in the gym. If I am pressed for time, I always get in some sort of weight training. While I do relish weightlifting, I’m not sure if the word fun would be an apt descriptor.

When it comes to jogging; I like the the time alone {except for the bats circling overhead}, free from distractions, outside enjoying the weather — but do I have fun?

No, not really. I am not even sure I even enjoy the activity itself. I am not really built for running, either physically or mentally, but because of the results I attain — I get out there and I do it.

I am not sure if fun should be part of the criteria for going out and exercising or even in the choice of a particular exercise. I pick and chose my routine for the results I desire to achieve. When I am bulking up and adding strength, my weight training is slower and the weights I use are much heavier. I still jog, but I cover less distance and I do it at a much slower pace. When I a leaning out, I decrease the poundages and I move much quicker. I cover more distance when I jog, I do it at a faster pace and I include rope skipping and sprints.

No matter what my particular goal is, I always include both progressive resistance and endurance training. They both contribute to the overall result I desire to achieve.

Is fun important? I guess it could be, but it isn’t a requirement. Exercise should be done to improve the overall quality of life. While I don’t really consider my exercise routine fun, it makes much of the other activities that I engage in much more fun. When I was in Chiropractic school I spent hours upon hours studying for classes, quizzes, exams and boards. Did I have fun during all that study time? I would have to say no, but it was necessary to achieve my goal. I look at exercise much the same way. My goal in regards to exercise is not to have fun during my exercise time; it is to achieve an improved level of fitness. The fun is in the results —

Image via Wikipedia

-because I am fit, I am able to hike longer and more difficult trails.

-because I am fit, I am able to participate more actively in beach and ocean activities

-because I am fit, I am able to live every aspect of my life much fuller and with much greater joy.

So, is fun a requirement when it comes to choosing an exercise routine? Perhaps to some, but it wasn’t to Jack LaLanne and it really isn’t to me.

I am much more concerned with the results of the exercises I pick. Taking into account travel to the track, then to the gym, showering and dressing — only about ninety minutes of my day is focused on exercise. While fun is nice; I prefer effectiveness, which in turn improves the quality of the remaining twenty-two and a half hours (and, yes, I sleep better because of exercise) of my day.

Life is lived in color, but sometimes the answers remain black and white.

Aloha, Ciao and Stay Healthy,

Joe

*****************************************************

Doc Joe Leonardi is the author of two books on weight loss and fitness. Obesity Undone and Sometimes the Bastard Returns. Both available on CreatSpace.com and Amazon.com.

Obesity Undone, is the 2nd edition of the life changing book Fat Then Fit Now. Obesity undone is weight loss and fitness uncomplicated. On March 1, 2008, Physical Culturist and Chiropractor Doc Joe weighed a ponderous, pachydermian and unhealthy 340 pounds. One year later he weighed in at 210 pounds.

In Sometimes The Bastard Returns Doc Joe Leonardi discusses the very real problem of obesity relapse. How it happened to him, and how on the verge of giving up,he reclaimed his health, wellness and fitness.

Doc Joe is also available to speak to your group, and for interviews. You may reach him at FatThenFitNow39@gmail.com

************The posting that I write do not apply to those with an underlying medical or hormonal condition. I advise anyone embarking on a weight loss and fitness plan to have a thorough medical evaluation. You want to be sure that you are physically able to exercise and you don’t have any underlying medical conditions.*************

Classic Doc Joe: For the next several weeks I will be re-posting some of my original writings. Sadly, the last several months, I lost sight of what I had previously written.

I just learned of the passing of ESPN’s Stuart Scott and I felt the need to re-post this previous writting. Stuart Scott inspired many, not only during his battle with cancer, but in his groundbreaking role at ESPN. Stuart fought hard, only to have cancer return not once, but twice.

The Grim Reaper remains undefeated, but Stuart Scott showed that it is about the quality of life that matters. Thank you Mr. Scott for reminding me of that which I had forgotten. Those who have known you are truly blessed. My sincerest and deepest condolences to his family and many friends, Stuart Scott will always remain as cool as the other side of the pillow…. Godspeed and Rest In Peace. Booyah!

“When you die, it does not mean that you lose to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and in the manner in which you live.” Stuart Scott, 2014 from his Jimmy V Perseverance Award acceptance speech at the ESPYs

“…in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Benjamin Franklin“

…all living things have to die. … We all die,some of us sooner then later.” Georgia Lass

There are events in our lives that make us aware of our own mortality. I have had three definitive instances in my lifetime that have done this. Unfortunately, that was all those particular instances did — made me aware.

Most of us know that one day we are going to die. As we have grown into adulthood we have lost loved ones and we reflect on their life and we take a moment, especially if someone dies suddenly or unexpectedly, to realize that one day that will be us. Sometimes we reflect for more than a moment, other times even less. However long we reflect or pause, we move on and forward, but inside we may not genuinely believe that one day that will be us.

Our mortality is one of those intangibles in life because it is so hard to grasp. We learn by experience, and while a brush with death, battling a life threatening illness or a near death experience may remind us that we are merely mortal, we may not actually accept the fact.

You see that is, in my opinion, the difference that really matters. We can be aware that we will one day die, but we may not really in our hearts accept it. For most of us we look at our deaths as something that may happen and if we concede the certainty, we cling to the belief that it is a day that is a long way off.

After my cardiac catheterization, I went from being aware of, to accepting of my ultimate demise. It was a moment that freed me of many of my worries and concerns. To not only know, but genuinely, whole-heartedly accepted the one truth about life, my person was suddenly set free.

I have written about the detriments of negative energy in the past. It was a concept that I was always well aware of, but until the moment of my mortality acceptance, it was more metaphysical than substantive. When I embraced my mortality, when I accepted that one day I will die — it was then that I fully began to live.

I no longer allow the, often times, real worries of daily living to impact my life.

I no longer allow the uncontrollable actions of others to dampen my joy of living.

I no longer complain, whine and chatter endlessly about the unimportant aspects of every day existence.

I do not love nor even like, the area in which I reside. I don’t like the attitude of despair and hopelessness. I am not a fan of cold temperatures, icy roads, snow or any other aspect associated with winter in the Northeastern Untied States. However, right now at this moment in time, this is where I am. I am here because of decisions that I made, so instead of bemoaning the aspects I don’t care for, I focus exclusively on the positives that are present.

Because I not only acknowledge and accept, but dare I say relish my mortality, I embrace the dawn of each and every new morning. When I go out for a jog in the sometimes very frigid morning air, I allow the briskness of the atmosphere to stimulate my senses. When the white precipitations falls from the sky, instead of grumbling about shoveling it, I look forward to the manual work I am physically capable of performing.

It is also about perspective:

In the cold temperatures, I have a warm place to sleep.

In tough financial times, I have a family to love me and a family for me to love.

I no longer put off enjoying my life. I recently went to Southern California to visit my sister and nephews. Money isn’t as free as it has been in the past. For a very brief moment I thought I should not go. I juggled some bills, put off others and made the trek west. The boys will only be young for a brief period of time and I want to be part of it as often as I can.

Because living a fit life is living a better life I have been quoted as saying, “Eat and exercise as if you will live forever and live as if you will die tomorrow.”

I have a goal of changing my residence to a warmer climate, near the ocean and earning enough to unite my family in that one location, yet as I work and plan toward that goal, I accept, that for reasons beyond my control, my life may end before I get there so — I will not allow today to pass in hopes of a tomorrow that may never arrive.

Classic Doc Joe: For the next several weeks I will be re-posting some of my original writings.

Image via Wikipedia

“I wish to preach, not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life, the life of toil and effort, of labor and strife; to preach that highest form of success which comes, not to the man who desires mere easy peace, but to the man who does not shrink from danger, from hardship, or from bitter toil, and who out of these wins the splendid ultimate triumph.” – Theodore Roosevelt

Last week, I was taking care of my girlfriend’s yard when the above quote came to mind. I use a manual, human powered, push mower and non-mechanical hedge clippers. I edge the lawn using hand held clippers. I worked for three hours in beautiful sunshine with the only scent in the air being that of fresh cut grass. There were neither lung chocking emissions, nor noise of motors nor engines to spoil the idyllic day.

A neighbor happened by and asked me about my non-mechanically aided endeavorer. I stated it was not only enjoyable, but there was something very fulfilling to accomplish a task utilizing nothing but the strength of my body. The person said, “But sometimes it is just better for work to be easier.” I disagreed, however, I seem to be in the minority.

In today’s society we seem to have slipped into a false truth — that if it is easier, it is better. We have remote controls for everything; the television, garage door, fans and even air conditioners all have little devices so we no longer must heft ourselves out of our comfy seats and move. Hell, if you count the clapper, we don’t even have to get off of our rear-ends to operate a light switch.

Go out in public and you will find doors that open automatically, two-story shopping malls with escalators and you need but a wave of the hand to start water flowing from a sink or dispense a paper towel. We don’t even have to flush the toilet.

In society today it seems that we are always looking for the path of least resistance. The path that takes the least amount of work is the path most chosen. Even in the gym, where people are working out to get more fit, one can observe the same pattern. If say a person wants to use 50 pound dumbells for an exercise, but the weight is not there, many will go down to the 45′s instead of up to the 55′s.

Why not, while using proper form and safety precautions, test one’s self and go up in weight a bit? Why not make it tad harder?

We are bombarded by marketing ploys that are supposed to make being healthy easy. Products will help us lose weight without any effort, they even market exercise machines that will magically produce results with little to no effort. Isn’t the point of exercise to promote effort?

Everywhere you travel foods of convenience dot the landscape. Sugar filled, carbohydrate loaded junk is marketed and often promoted as health food. Atkins, Low Carb, Paleolithic and Primal diets are dismissed by media “doctors” such as Dr. Melina Jampolis and “experts” who receive income from the industries that are destroying health.

We have moved away from the “Strenuous Life” President Theodore Roosevelt so extolled.

Cover of The Strenuous Life

Our schools continue to cut out recess and shortened gym classes, yet President Roosevelt used his belief in the strenuous life to overcome childhood ailments. He strongly believed in the adage that a fit mind requires a fit body to house it. He exercised, engaged in sport, he even skinny dipped in the Potomac River during the winter. While even under the best conditions, I would never consider swimming in the Susquehanna River as it runs along the Pittston to Wilkes-Barre corridor, I admire Teddy’s attitude and drive when it came to pursuing The Strenuous Life.

Our current President took more than a year to fill positions on The President’s Council on Physical Fitness, Sport & Nutrition. So, as the First Lady was admirably campaigns to increase awareness of childhood obesity, President Barack Obama delayed action on the council that was founded to encourage American children to be healthy and active. Am I missing something?

In his 1899 address before the Hamilton Club, in of all places Chicago, Teddy Roosevelt asked the question, “Who among you would teach your boys that ease is to be the first consideration in their eyes—to be the ultimate goal after which they strive?

It seems that by today’s standard, the answer would be; most. Thanks to the conveniences of modern society life is easier. However, considering the soaring obesity rates, both adult and childhood, are the results of ease worth the price?

So I ask the question — Are we teaching our young men and women to strive for ease? If we are — How much damage are we doing?

Life is lived in color,but sometimes the answers remainblack and white.

Aloha, Ciao and Stay Healthy,

Joe

*****************************************************

Doc Joe Leonardi is the author of two books on weight loss and fitness. Obesity Undone and Sometimes the Bastard Returns. Both available on CreatSpace.com and Amazon.com.

Obesity Undone, is the 2nd edition of the life changing book Fat Then Fit Now. Obesity undone is weight loss and fitness uncomplicated. On March 1, 2008, Physical Culturist and Chiropractor Doc Joe weighed a ponderous, pachydermian and unhealthy 340 pounds. One year later he weighed in at 210 pounds.

In Sometimes The Bastard Returns Doc Joe Leonardi discusses the very real problem of obesity relapse. How it happened to him, and how on the verge of giving up,he reclaimed his health, wellness and fitness.

Doc Joe is also available to speak to your group, and for interviews. You may reach him at FatThenFitNow39@gmail.com

************The posting that I write do not apply to those with an underlying medical or hormonal condition. I advise anyone embarking on a weight loss and fitness plan to have a thorough medical evaluation. You want to be sure that you are physically able to exercise and you don’t have any underlying medical conditions.*************

Classic Doc Joe: For the next several weeks I will be re-posting some of my original writings.

It is the word that is offered as the simplistic solution to all our woes.

It is the word that the lazy jog on out to justify their lackadaisical, exercise efforts.

It is the word that those who consume junk food use as an excuse to feed their cravings.

It is the one word that makes the hairs on my neck stand straight up.

It is the one word that causes every muscle in my body to reflexively tense until they cramp.

What is the word?

Moderation!

The proponents of moderation tell us; to lose weight, all we need do is eat in moderation.

Radio personality and self-proclaimed America’s Doctor, media medic Dr. Dean Edell will tell you to eat whatever you like, just do so in moderation. Please tell me exactly what is moderation? Joe.340 would eat a dozen doughnuts over the course of a day — What is moderation? Six!?!? You think I am joking. For someone like me — food is an addiction, and that is exactly the thinking that can go on.

The gurus of pseudo-fitness decree that to shape up your body all you must do is exercise in moderation. For Joe.340 moderate exercise would have been lifting and carrying 2 pizza boxes and a 2 six packs of beer from my car to the apartment.

Even tough talking, bombastic radio host Michael Savage, a man for whom political moderation is a travesty, demonstrates an uncharacteristic point of view when it comes to serious exercise when he states that you should only exercise enough to get your muscles warm. Yo, Dr. Michael Alan Weiner, you would not accept moderation in the political realm because you understand that moderation produces mediocre results — Why accept it anywhere else?

Jack LaLanne knew the answer. Once he swore off sugar as a teen, he stated he never had a sweet again. He lived into his 90′s, that is a long time without a slice of cake or a dish of ice cream. Many will think that extreme, but Jack LaLanne was a man who not only talked about living a healthy life — he actually lived a healthy life.

If you suffer from obesity — did eating moderately cause you to become overweight?

If you are a physical wreck — did you reach that state because you were only moderately slothful?

If you only want to kind-of, sort-of lose weight, I highly suggest moderation.

If you only kind-of, sort-of desire to improve your fitness level, then by all means, only exercise moderately.

If the object of education is to barely understand what you are studying, please, only review the material every now and then.

If the goal of your life is to only achieve limited, average, mediocre success, then don’t work too hard and that is exactly what you will achieve.

Simply stated, if your goal is excellence, you won’t get there via half-hearted, half-way, moderate attempts.

If you want to reshape your body and retake control of your very being, you must be willing to dedicate yourself to that effort.

You must not only have the desire to lose weight, you must not only have the determination get in shape, you must also have the discipline to accomplish your goals.

You must be aware of everything that you eat every day. You must do some form of exercise each day of the week. You must make a new you a priority in your life.

If you are unwilling to work hard, you will not reach your goals. If you are not going to invest time to exercise, the results won’t be those you desire.

I’m not saying to push yourself to the extreme limits elite athletes push themselves, but you must push yourself within your own limits. You must make the maximum effort you are capable of making to achieve the results you desire.

Of course, get a thorough physical examination. Be as sure as possible that you will not suffer deleterious effects from exercise or a new diet. When you are sure your current physical state can handle it, go out and begin to reshape and remodel your body.

Take it slow at first.

Gradually, build up your strength and endurance.

However, as you progress and your fitness level improves, slowly but surely push yourself a little further. As you continue to improve, as the excess body fat falls from your body, as you need to purchase new clothing, as you begin to enjoy a more active, fulfilling life you will no longer accept mediocrity.

Moderation? I don’t think so. I will take excellence any day!

Aloha, Ciao and Stay Healthy,

Joe

*****************************************************

Doc Joe Leonardi is the author of two books on weight loss and fitness. Obesity Undone and Sometimes the Bastard Returns. Both available on CreatSpace.com and Amazon.com.

Obesity Undone, is the 2nd edition of the life changing book Fat Then Fit Now. Obesity undone is weight loss and fitness uncomplicated. On March 1, 2008, Physical Culturist and Chiropractor Doc Joe weighed a ponderous, pachydermian and unhealthy 340 pounds. One year later he weighed in at 210 pounds.

In Sometimes The Bastard Returns Doc Joe Leonardi discusses the very real problem of obesity relapse. How it happened to him, and how on the verge of giving up,he reclaimed his health, wellness and fitness.

Doc Joe is also available to speak to your group, and for interviews. You may reach him at FatThenFitNow39@gmail.com

************The posting that I write do not apply to those with an underlying medical or hormonal condition. I advise anyone embarking on a weight loss and fitness plan to have a thorough medical evaluation. You want to be sure that you are physically able to exercise and you don’t have any underlying medical conditions.*************

“…. to go into a cold gym takes a lot of discipline, boy, I’ll tell ya. … I never liked to exercise, but I like results.” Jack LaLanne

“One can exist for an indefinite period without exercise, but one cannot really and truly live without it.” Bernarr MacFadden

I was reading on one of the many Facebook pages I belong to and someone was asking about not feeling up to a workout. Some of the responses suggested that workouts must be fun. As I read them I had to ask myself two questions:

Are my workouts fun? Do they need to be?

My exercise routine is spit into two portions:

Strength training, in which I use weight lifting.

Endurance training, in which I use a combination of jogging, sprints and rope skipping.

Yes, I will admit that there is something exhilarating about pitting myself against cold, unyielding iron. I look forward to my mornings in the gym. If I am pressed for time, I always get in some sort of weight training. While I do relish weightlifting, I’m not sure if the word fun would be an apt descriptor.

When it comes to jogging; I like the the time alone {except for the bats circling overhead}, free from distractions, outside enjoying the weather — but do I have fun?

No, not really. I am not even sure I even enjoy the activity itself. I am not really built for running, either physically or mentally, but because of the results I attain — I get out there and I do it.

I am not sure if fun should be part of the criteria for going out and exercising or even in the choice of a particular exercise. I pick and chose my routine for the results I desire to achieve. When I am bulking up and adding strength, my weight training is slower and the weights I use are much heavier. I still jog, but I cover less distance and I do it at a much slower pace. When I a leaning out, I decrease the poundages and I move much quicker. I cover more distance when I jog, I do it at a faster pace and I include rope skipping and sprints.

No matter what my particular goal is, I always include both progressive resistance and endurance training. They both contribute to the overall result I desire to achieve.

Is fun important? I guess it could be, but it isn’t a requirement. Exercise should be done to improve the overall quality of life. While I don’t really consider my exercise routine fun, it makes much of the other activities that I engage in much more fun. When I was in Chiropractic school I spent hours upon hours studying for classes, quizzes, exams and boards. Did I have fun during all that study time? I would have to say no, but it was necessary to achieve my goal. I look at exercise much the same way. My goal in regards to exercise is not to have fun during my exercise time; it is to achieve an improved level of fitness. The fun is in the results —

Image via Wikipedia

-because I am fit, I am able to hike longer and more difficult trails.

-because I am fit, I am able to participate more actively in beach and ocean activities

-because I am fit, I am able to live every aspect of my life much fuller and with much greater joy.

So, is fun a requirement when it comes to choosing an exercise routine? Perhaps to some, but it wasn’t to Jack LaLanne and it really isn’t to me.

I am much more concerned with the results of the exercises I pick. Taking into account travel to the track, then to the gym, showering and dressing — only about ninety minutes of my day is focused on exercise. While fun is nice; I prefer effectiveness, which in turn improves the quality of the remaining twenty-two and a half hours (and, yes, I sleep better because of exercise) of my day.

Life is lived in color, but sometimes the answers remain black and white.

Aloha, Ciao and Stay Healthy,

Joe

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Doc Joe Leonardi is the author of two books on weight loss and fitness. Obesity Undone and Sometimes the Bastard Returns. Both available on CreatSpace.com and Amazon.com.

Obesity Undone, is the 2nd edition of the life changing book Fat Then Fit Now. Obesity undone is weight loss and fitness uncomplicated. On March 1, 2008, Physical Culturist and Chiropractor Doc Joe weighed a ponderous, pachydermian and unhealthy 340 pounds. One year later he weighed in at 210 pounds.

In Sometimes The Bastard Returns Doc Joe Leonardi discusses the very real problem of obesity relapse. How it happened to him, and how on the verge of giving up,he reclaimed his health, wellness and fitness.

Doc Joe is also available to speak to your group, and for interviews. You may reach him at FatThenFitNow39@gmail.com

************The posting that I write do not apply to those with an underlying medical or hormonal condition. I advise anyone embarking on a weight loss and fitness plan to have a thorough medical evaluation. You want to be sure that you are physically able to exercise and you don’t have any underlying medical conditions.*************

Welcome to the Power of PIES. I apologize to those coming to this site looking for dessert : ) Instead, the PIES represented here is the powerful combination of Prayer, Imagination, Emotion, and Starting now. Read on, and I promise you will be impacted in a positive way. After all, life is sweet. Enjoy it!